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Branding – It Stinks But You’ve Gotta Do It

Recently, I have spent a fair amount of time reading about social media and promotion. Whereas social sites like Facebook and Twitter used to be the magical realms where only the brave, computer savvy individual would dare tread, more and more people have started to ride the wave. But individuals are not the only ones who have taken notice. Businesses are starting to build and manage their own accounts on these sites so that they can quickly and efficiently disseminate information to their followers. And I am not talking about just BIG business, either. Small mom-and-pop operations, artists, musicians, marketers, insurance agents, professionals in every industry . . . they are all participating.

I have been no different–because I have seen the power (wisely used/not abused) of these sites when people with large followings use the mediums to keep in touch with their peeps and tweeps.

This brings me to my subject about BRANDING.

I have started a list on twitter where I am following authors, writers, agents, publishers, and book reviewers whom I either personally enjoy, or who have connections to people whom I have met in the publishing industry. Some people I have added to the list simply because they are wildly famous and lots of people are interested in what they might have to say.

So . . . the other day I decided to go looking for some famous authors to add. I decided I was going to add Stephenie Meyer and JK Rowling. I found Stephenie Meyer almost immediately. But I didn’t add her twitter account to the list. Why? Something didn’t look right. Yes, the picture was her. But the tweets “didn’t fit”. I did some digging. I came across a blog of a person who seemed to have legitimate data. I learned that Stephenie Meyer doesn’t have a twitter account. The biggest twitter account out there (with the most followers) is an imposter. So are the others.

Hehehee. Glad I didn’t follow for that one. Yes, the misspelling was intentional.

Then I went looking for JK Rowling. This time, armed with the new realization that twitter accounts for famous people are commonly held by squatters, I did my homework. I found a great web article that talked about the fact that JK Rowling opened up a twitter account just to keep the imposters at bay. She did three tweets (http://twitter.com/jk_rowling). Go read them. I thought her tweets were funny.

What is the moral of this story?

Well, I had someone ask me recently, “I was planning on opening my twitter account later, when my book is published. Should I do it now?”

YES. It is about branding. It doesn’t even matter if you never intend to use the twitter account. OPEN it. Claim it as your own.

Branding. Have you ever been around when cattle are branded? It stinks.

Yep. Branding your name is work. It is a pain. It even stinks. But if you are an author or any other aspiring artist or professional, you’ve got to do it!

Protect your name. If you don’t, and you become wildly famous, how will I find the real you?